Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Just as Foss was about to leave, he suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching from nearby. He immediately realized that his eldest brother had returned, so his feet, which had been about to move, stopped once more.

The Lord of Sis in the darkness didn’t seem to mind. Soon, a fully armored Waynes strode into the room and stopped beside Foss, reporting to their lord father just as Foss had done:

“Father, the south side has been arranged. Vice Commander Paige is personally leading the patrol.”

“Noted.”

“Then I won’t disturb your rest any further, Father.”

With that, Waynes cast a glance at his younger brother beside him, then turned and left on his own.

“Father, I will take my leave as well.”

No answer came from within the darkness. Foss bowed and withdrew as well.

…

The residential district south of Bell Tower Square.

Tonight was especially quiet. Snow fell outside while firewood crackled and popped in the fireplace. Ron reclined against his simple headboard, slowly withdrawing his consciousness from his body bit by bit.

The body was protection, but also a constraint. Only his Light Orb true form was his most authentic self right now.

At this moment, however, he had no mood for philosophical reflections, nor any need to recall the inheritance process from during the day. He could see the effects produced today directly on the orb’s surface.

Originally, there had been only two styles of mysterious patterns on the orb’s surface. One was the kind that had proliferated in massive quantities when his Light Orb true form was first exposed to the outside world right after transmigration. The other represented the entire essence of the local “Ron.”

The two pattern styles were completely distinct, yet they could also merge into each other.

Of course, from Ron’s perspective, it was simply that “Ron’s” body had been infiltrated by some external element.

And now, he had discovered an entirely new type of pattern, one that differed from both previous styles.

Considering the significance these mysterious patterns represented, as well as the possibility of conducting deeper research on them in the future, Ron decided to give them formal names.

The mysterious patterns that proliferated in large numbers when his Light Orb true form was exposed to the outside world, he named 【Pollution Secret Patterns】. Judging by their effects, they did indeed resemble a form of pollution.

The mysterious patterns that represented “Ron,” he named 【Body Secret Patterns】. These could promptly and accurately reflect his body’s state, and conversely, by manipulating the patterns, he could induce changes in the body’s condition.

The 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】 was precisely one such application.

And the newly discovered type of mysterious pattern, he named 【Transcendent Secret Patterns】, because all of them had appeared only when he received the Ice Breathing Technique inheritance.

“Ron’s” memories were spread flat across the orb’s surface in the form of Secret Patterns, while Ron’s own original memories existed as light within the orb itself. Or rather, within the boundary of the Light Orb was the complete aggregate of everything he originally was.

He could clearly sense that the Secret Patterns newly appearing on his Light Orb’s surface had manifested during the inheritance.

And since the Ice Breathing Technique inheritance was linked to the path of transcendence, he named this newly emerged type of pattern 【Transcendent Secret Patterns】.

His current understanding and research of these patterns were extremely limited. More precise classifications and naming might emerge in the future, but for now, he would use these three names temporarily.

…

Thanks to the 【Comprehensive Body Refinement Technique】, a program he had already developed for reverse-influencing the body through Secret Patterns, Ron speculated that the newly appeared Transcendent Secret Patterns were very likely the program for the Ice Breathing Technique.

Furthermore, since they reflected the Ice Breathing performed in proximity to the wondrous ice, they might even allow him to use the technique normally without needing Ignition Potion.

However, he didn’t dare try it rashly. Jason had made the consequences sound so severe that if something went wrong, it would be too late for regrets.

For now, he primarily focused on observation and perception, just as sensing Body Secret Patterns could reveal the corresponding body tissues and functions.

So what would perceiving the Transcendent Secret Patterns allow him to gain?

With this thought, Ron had already focused his attention on one relatively independent Transcendent Secret Pattern. The next moment, he felt as though he had returned to the inheritance chamber, back in that pool, and the sensation of his consciousness freezing overcame him once again.

But this time, he could clearly perceive the falseness of that cold. It was not as overwhelmingly real as what he had felt when fully immersed in “Ron’s” body.

It turned out that his Light Orb true form was not afraid of bitter cold. At the very least, it was immune to sensory-level disturbances from ice.

His current state was quite peculiar. On one side was the sensation of his consciousness being frozen, while on the other, he could feel himself completely unaffected.

The feeling was somewhat like the moon reflecting on the mirror-like surface of a lake. The lake’s surface was entirely undisturbed by the moonlight, yet it still reflected the moon’s state with perfect fidelity.

His Light Orb true form was like a mirror, accurately reflecting everything from the outside world on its surface.

However, there was one thing that exceeded Ron’s expectations. He had thought he was perceiving only a single, relatively independent Transcendent Secret Pattern, but in reality, at the instant he perceived it, multiple Secret Patterns had simultaneously activated in concert.

What he was actually perceiving was an interconnected set of multiple systematic Secret Patterns.

When he switched to a different target within the set and perceived another pattern, the experience was completely identical to what he had just sensed.

This confirmed that what he had perceived was not a single isolated pattern, but a collection composed of multiple Secret Patterns.

In fact, Body Secret Patterns followed the same principle, with a slight distinction. Individual Body Secret Patterns could be perceived on their own, but when corresponding to a specific function, they also manifested as a pattern set.

From this perspective, Transcendent Secret Patterns should also be individually perceptible. It was just that he couldn’t do it yet at this stage.

Or perhaps they could be perceived, but he couldn’t recognize them as such.

It was like a person looking at a 3D painting. They could already see all the details, but without careful scrutiny or even adjusting their viewing angle, they wouldn’t be able to see the 3D scene hidden within.

For this entirely new domain of Secret Patterns, Ron had zero prior experience. Everything required starting from scratch and exploring bit by bit.

But since it concerned transcendence, contamination, and most importantly, the safety of his true form, Ron was currently taking a relatively conservative research approach, focusing primarily on observation, perception, and documentation.

Unless he had sufficient confidence, he would not perform actual operations.

Of course, expelling or separating Pollution Secret Patterns from Body Secret Patterns was the exception. After all, if he didn’t do that, he might not even be able to control this body.

Urgent, important, not urgent, not important: Ron distinguished these four attributes very clearly.

…

Through repeated perception, Ron ultimately confirmed that what had newly appeared on his Light Orb’s surface was indeed the Ice Breathing Technique. However, there also existed a certain quantity of redundant Secret Patterns whose specific functions had not yet been determined.

But by now, he could essentially match the identifiable Transcendent Secret Patterns with the body’s breathing and transcendent power circulation mechanisms.

In other words, he had cracked the essence of the Ice Breathing Technique!

Not only that, he had gone a step further and discovered a Breathing Technique that was even closer to the ideal state than what Foss had taught!

If he wasn’t mistaken, the Sis Territory’s Ice Breathing Technique originated from that wondrous ice in the underground grotto beneath the castle. It wasn’t that some secret manual for the Breathing Technique was hidden within the ice.

Rather, the wondrous ice allowed those who approached or even touched it to comprehend the Breathing Technique on their own. Of course, the prerequisite was that the person already knew of the Breathing Technique’s existence and its underlying principles.

But presumably, no one in the Sis Territory had been able to penetrate the true nature of that wondrous ice, and therefore couldn’t create a Breathing Technique that most closely approximated its essence.

Of course, it was also possible that a far more sophisticated Ice Breathing Technique existed within the Sis Territory, and the lord had simply chosen to hold something back from those under him.